Welcome to TRINGENUITY, CBR's ongoing commentary of DC Comics' weekly superhero series, "Trinity." The title is divided into two features; the first focuses on Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, while the second feature portrays background or tangential events that relate to the ongoing lead storyline. "Trinity" is a weekly series that is promised to be epic in scale and help define the trio of heroes' mythical place in the DC Universe.

PREVIOUSLY

Tarot’s link to the Worldsoul dragged her into the planet’s past, where she and Charity, who’s Tarot’s link to the present, were shown images of all the women throughout history who’ve also been linked to the Worldsoul. Through the growing connection to the planet’s spirit, Tarot learned the truth: the world has begun to reshape itself, but it cannot survive such a process. If things are not corrected, the world will die -- and Tarot along with it.

In our backup feature, Enigma and Morgaine realized Konvikt was the alien needed to complete the Troika, and approached him with an offer.

TRINITY #27

The populace of Opal City is alarmed by the changes taking place as the universe tries to compensate for the lack of a Trinity. Charity, the local fortuneteller, learns for Tarot that the world is doomed without the return of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. In St. Roch, the League and the JSI, aided by the cyborgs of the Heywood Corps, battle against an army of colossal monsters. In the mountain headquarters of the Troika, Le Fey and Engima greet Konvikt and learn his name, Xalitan Xor. Morgaine shakes hands with the monster, apparently completing the circuit and transforming Xor into something more than mortal. Gangbuster meets with Carter Hall and convinces the leader of the JSI that it is time to don his Hawkman wings again and join the battle to save mankind.

At the close of the lead feature, Morgaine announced her need for an army, and the backup feature takes us directly to the home of that army, an offshore prison where the Dreambound were being held captive. Through the eyes of the Trans-Volitional Man, himself a tortured soul once addicted to drugs, we are reintroduced to Primat and Swashbuckler, while a transformed Mark Richards becomes the new Sun Chained In Ink. Now reunited, the Dreambound are summoned by Morgaine Le Fey and escape the prison, bringing with them an army of prisoners including Dr. Polaris, Monsieur Mallah and The Brain, Queen Bee, Poison Ivy, Parasite, Eclipso, the Crimson Avenger, Girder and Ace of the Royal Flush Gang.

COMMENTARY

Brian Eason: It seems as though the people of Opal City are aware the universe is changing around them.

Justin Eger: Certainly appears that way, though if I saw my friend turn into a giant lizard as that one gentleman did, I wouldn't stick around to talk about it.

BE: The damage to the Worldsoul and the universe have blinded Charity's ability to see the future.

JE: Not much more than ten minutes, it looks like. I would postulate that the universe is changing so rapidly that there is no set future, or perhaps the multiple paths are far, far too varied.

BE: Exactly my thoughts, because the alternative is very scary, that there is no future.

JE: And there's only ten minutes left to live? That's horrifying.

BE: Demons attacking St. Roch and who rides to the rescue? The Heywood Corps.

Reinforcements arrive in the form of the Heywood Corps

JE: The legacy of Commander Steel, live and in color. Though those poor kids are pretty messed up.

BE: It was very "Kingdom Come," wasn't it?

JE: I hadn't thought of it that way at first, but yes, very much so. To give up your life to be butchered with cybernetics? Wow.

BE: One handshake from Morgaine was apparently all it took, even though we don't get a good look at Konvikt afterwards.

A pact is made

JE: We also don't hear much from Graak after that point. I hope the little guy isn't too hurt.

BE: Your love of strange little characters has been noted before.

JE: And it will continue to be so. Don't tell me you're not intrigued by the goofy little bugger.

BE: Intrigued? Perhaps. Enamored? No.

JE: Well I'm certainly not going to ask him to marry me, but he brings a touch of humor to an otherwise grim scenario.

BE: Now Charity knows that the world is missing the Trinity.

JE: Vague recollections of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are getting vaguer by the second, too.

BE: It's the countdown to the end. Once their memory is gone, so is the world.

JE: The very basis of the world, knocked away by the spell Morgaine wove. It's a good thing that at least a few people remember the big three.

BE: It seems in flux. As we've seen, the longer it goes one, the more people forget. Yet there are others who seem to remember. It's chaos.

JE: Completely. It makes me wonder how close to the line we really are, here. It certainly doesn't seem like much is keeping this world in check.

BE: It requires a stabilizing influence, a Trinity. Now, it remains to be seen if the Troika satisfies that need. Your boy, Gangbuster, convinces Carter to put the wings back on.

JE: Yes! A moment I've been waiting for since we sidestepped into this crazy new world. Hawkman and Gangbuster were quite a team in our reality.

BE: A great point, they were and I am excited to see them together again.

JE: Not only do I want to see the updated look for the Hawk-armor, I think I'm in the mood to see the duo wreck a little havoc.

BE: Hawkman is a master at creating havoc.

JE: Yes he is, and Gangbuster isn't too far behind since being reintroduced in “Trinity.” A little more restrained, perhaps, but the man brings the havoc when needed.

It’s time for everyone to take action

BE: And now that they are complete, the Troika needs an army.

JE: Which leads right into our backup feature, with a history of Morgaine's lackey, the Trans-Volitional Man.

BE: Speaking of "strange little characters." I love this guy, he's so very odd.

JE: The scene where he teleported his fingers away from his body was a tad disturbing.

BE: She does. Most of them don't exactly seem like the terribly villainous sort.

JE: Then it's over to Swashbuckler.

BE: I like this guy, I have since the beginning. Swashbuckler would be a great Green Arrow antagonist.

JE: Great idea. He's got a lot of style, but what about the odd touch that we saw this week, the scarring around his throat?

BE: I'm very interested in seeing where this goes. Not even the most normal among them seems to be completely normal. There is a reason they were selected by the Troika and we have not seen the root of it yet.

JE: This sort of stems back to what I just said about Primat. They're not the heaviest of heavies when it comes to villainy. They all seem to be able to be, I don't know, redeemed, perhaps?

BE: They do seem a strangely -- passive -- source for someone like Morgaine.

JE: A quick shift in reality then drops the team at the feet of Mark Richards, the Tattooed Man.

BE: How this all fits in with "Final Crisis" remains to be seen, but in that storyline, Richards is helping the JLA save the world from Darkseid's Justifiers.

JE: Considering that we've got a little off-book here in "Trinity," I'd wager that using Richards is a twofold tactic. One, he's a perfect channel for the powers of Sun Chained In Ink, but secondly, he's also a prominent figure in the mainstream DCU right now. After all, we are just a quick sidestep away.

BE: This story, one way or another, will be brought into continuity. I'm just interested to see where it fits.

JE: No complaints from here. I'll be happy to see these characters get some continued use. I thought that the reintroduction of Sun Chained In Ink was quite attractively drawn.

The return of Sun Chained In Ink!

BE: Gorgeous. Scott McDaniel has such an eye for action and he captures the moment of transformation perfectly.

JE: And the character has a very cool design. Unlike the regular Tattooed Man, he's not just a random configuration of tattoos. There's a beautiful symmetry here. And then Morgaine picks up her recruits, plus a few new friends.

BE: And now the Troika has an Army, Despero has an Army and the Trinity (when they show back up) has an Army. Sounds like war to me.

JE: Wow. You just blew my mind.

BE: That's why I'm here. This little shooting match has just started, and we're only half way through the title at this point. Consider how much has already transpired. This is only set-up for a conflict to come and Krona hasn't even been addressed by this point. He remains the ultimate foe here, the Troika is secondary.

JE: That's going to be a lot of bodies on the field at one time, and in probably pretty short order, as well. And because the concept is boggling my brain right now, let me leave you with this: all three armies versus Krona. That might be what it takes.